New mad torque

[Blades]

So all those peoples with the mad torque...I blame you.
THe wife said I could buy a new toy for our 5 yr anniversary and after not being sure of what to get i decided to start with a mad torque to see if i like crawling.
What are some upgrades that need to be done asap. I know wheel weighs are up there. What do you reccommend, carriage bolts, concrete anchors or I have access to automotive tape weights. Also how much? I plan on this one being an intro crawler and eventually getting a 2.2 comp crawler if I like it as much as I think I will.
Thanks for any and all info

[ekd]

Welcome to the club.

I consider rear steer a must, and found that getting rid of clod stall was a big help to me as well.

There is a lot of good stuff to read here, thanks to some considerately created threads... and some real DIY spirit.

Wherever you end up, I'm betting you'll be glad you started where you did.

[BentMetaL]

Welcome to the Mad Torque world. There is several threads about MT builds. Check'em out! My thread is listed below.

[John-e Bravada]

Welcome. I didn't go rear steer till later, I went dual stock ESCs and a hacked GT3B radio 1st. To each thier own.

List for 1sts: Remove bumpers
Outboard the shocks
Star foams
Weight the front rims I did 4oz of stick on wheel weights
Better front steering servo/dual servos
Kink rear lower links which clocks the transmission
2S lipo
Drive the piss out of it!

Those are the cheap/free ones I can think of off hand. You get into tires and rims next, rear steer, dual esc, streaching the wheel base, etc....

Just have fun with it!

[Jphillips472]

Okay, I'm trying this out, I don't know if my posts are going up. I may not be doing it right. What does it mean to clock the transmission and how do you hook up 2 esc's? I made rear steering from threaded rod and put copper tube over it, it cost me 3 bucks and now I have rear steer, I also put a hitec hs5955tg servo up front, but will need more torque out back.

[John-e Bravada]

By clocking the transmissions I meant rotating the axles so you have more clearance under the motors and transmissions (the gear cases). This helps with rock clearance but screws up caster.

To hook up Dual ESCs you need at least a 3channel radio that you can mix channels. Both ESCs get their own channel. They are mixed, which means you control how much power goes to each ESC to provide dig and or proportional control of each axle.

Steering torque is something you always need more of

[trackercrawler]

so i assume the stock esc doesn't have any problems with running a lipo battery?

[John-e Bravada]

Originally Posted by trackercrawler

so i assume the stock esc doesn't have any problems with running a lipo battery?

Yes and no, it doesn't have any problem running up to 3S but it doesn't have a voltage cut off so you have to get some sort of microscream or low voltage light.

Some one needs to try 4S on the stock ESCs..... I might just have to be the one, again! I'm thinking about upgrading to BRXLs for the Bully so I might just truy the 4S and if they smoke then I have the green light to order them up.

[BentMetaL]

You can get a mini scream lipo cut off on ebay for around $5. I run one and it works perfect.

[trackercrawler]

I did a quick search on ebay and couldn't find the lipo cut off that you are talking about. sorry to be a pain but can you get me a link to it? thank you much

[BentMetaL]

Check this one out. I just typed in lipo battery and this was on page 2.

2in1 Lipo Battery Low Voltage Tester 1S-8S Buzzer Alarm | eBay

[E.G.A.]

Hi, i'm new here and i'm very interested to buy a Mad Torque but i don't live in USA and i'm afraid to buy a crawler that breaks too much because of the high shipping cost in overseas orders.

So, please, what did you break in your MT? how did you fix it? I only know the front knuckle issue and i want to know if Axial AX10 knuckles are a direct fit.

BTW, i'm not planning to bulid a pure crawler, i want a big trail truck that can crawl, something like 1/10 Traxxas Summit but less expensive. I know that i'll need more speed for that so i'm thinking to put two 35/45T 540's, what do you think? For me, about 6-8 mph will be fine, i don't want a basher. Also, i'm interesting in waterproofing electronics (ballooning esc & receiver and plastidip servo) but i'm worried about gearboxes, are they sealed? If not, are they easy to seal from water and mud?.

I'll apreciate your help.

Edgar.

[BentMetaL]

Hello EGA. Mad Torque's are pretty reliable in the since that you don't get too crazy. Order some AX-10 knuckles they fit prefect. Look on E-Bay for crawler motors. Venom Fireballs should fit your price range. First off about waterproofing, change out all the axle bearings to sealed ones like the Traxxas slash has. I would just put a little sealant on the gearboxes and call it good. You will have to take them apart occasionally to lube them anyway. Next I would change the servo to something with more power. The stock one is weak. I would recommend putting 4 wheel steering when you decide to up grade your radio. Don't get me wrong the stock radio works fine but to do 4 wheel steer you need a 3 channel. If you have any other questions, there is a lot of info here. Find all the MT threads and subscribe to them and you can keep up with us. Check out my link below.

[E.G.A.]

Thanks PHAT2011, i've readed all MT threads but i've choosen this to ask because is not a personal thread,

Apart from steering knuckles, something that breaks easily? I'll buy the car in Europe (re-branded as Nanda Racing, not Exceed, but same car) and AX10 aluminum knuckles from eBay, but if there's something that used to break i'll make an order to NitroRCX.

About the servo, i have one TPro 15kg torque digital servo from my buggy that could fit. Don't care about 4ws because i don't want a pure crawler, i'm looking more for a trail truck that can crawl (50% trail 50% crawl, something like an Axial SCX10). What do you think about motors? 35 or 45T? Normally i drive about 4-6mph walking behind the car trough the woods, 10mph top speed will be fine to don't go always at full throttle. I'm thinking in two RC4WD 35T 540's...

I'll take care on waterproofing tips.

[BentMetaL]

Here's the thing, 35T will give you more speed. The 45 has more torque. The higher the number the more torque and less speed.

[E.G.A.]

I know, i know. But what would you choose for about 9-10mph top speed? 35 or 45T?.

Thanks.

[BentMetaL]

I've never thought of it that way. I would stick with 45T. My son has a 35T in his AX-10 and you can't keep up with it walking. With 45T you got some of both worlds

[ekd]

Yup. With the stock pinion being so small, and the room available to go bigger... I'm guessing a 45T would give you the most chances of finding the balance you want. There are plenty of huge pinions out there, and lots of space in the trans for them.

[E.G.A.]

Thanks! I'll take care. I'm seeing in some youtube videos that MT is not too slow. Seems like top speed could be about 5-6mph out of the box, right? Can the stock ESC and motors handle 3S lipos? I'm seeing a lot of people crawling with 3S brushed setups and i'm a bit surprised, to my knowlegde 540's motors are supposed to work between 6 and 8 volts,

Also, i've readed some people breaking dogbones, do you know another dogbone that will fit apart from stock ones? As i told, i'm not from USA and i'll very pleased if i could buy spares from eBay and not from NitroRCX due to high shipping cost... Yesterday i've ordered my Nanda Spirit Crawler from Germany (same as MT but re-branded) and a pair of aluminum AX10 knuckles trough eBay, i'll post photos soon...

Thank you very much.

[ekd]

You're in it now!

John-e Bravada took the plunge, and proved not only will the stock ESCs cheerfully take 3s, but that 1/2 of his survived 4s (not good odds... unless you have a pile of them).

You have some reading to do as you wait... and a group of guys ready to help when it does come.